When I am in a tidy and organised space my mind feels so much clearer!
One of the things I get asked a lot by friends is how I keep my home #tidy #organised, especially with a baby. One of the main responses I give is that it’s not always tidy, especially at the weekend...!
The second response I give is that I grew up with a mum who liked things tidy, so it’s rubbed off on me! However, there is a lot of truth in that second point; I enjoy a tidy house, I like everything to have a home and quite enjoy putting everything away. I firmly believe in the phrase ‘tidy home, tidy mind’, it very much appeals to my innate desire to organise everything!
I had a think about how I try to keep my home tidy and organised and came up with the following tips, tricks and habits I use to keep my house resembling some sort of order.
"Tips, tricks and habits"
1. Have a home for everything Everything has a place and lives somewhere in the house! This makes it so much easier and quicker to tidy as I know exactly where to put it back. For example; we have a letter rack on the hall table to any post that needs filing or actioned, I have a pot in the bathroom for my hair ties, we have boxes labelled in the utility room for things like batteries etc. However…we, like a lot of homes also have two or three ‘junk drawers’…or ‘man drawers’…!
2. Take bits up, bring bits down
When I go upstairs to get something or put something away then I pick up something that needs to come downstairs back with me. This helps to stop little piles appearing all over the place…usually the stairs! One of the things that helps with this is my stair basket. I throw in a lot of bits that need to be taken upstairs eventually to hide them and then grab the basket to empty it when it’s full.
3. Only buy items which have a purpose
This is something I try really hard to do but don’t always achieve…sometimes deliberately! This year especially though I am only buying things which we actually need and which will have a purpose in the house. Things that I buy need to be a considered purchase and I need to know exactly what they will be used for and where they will live (see point 2!)
I try not to buy doubles (or triples!) of products unless the offer is too good to pass up as this just means I create more clutter at home.
I also try not to buy things too similar to what we already have, or if we already have something which is perfectly fine and does the same job – because if we do what is the point in the new one?
4. Cordless hoover and spray mop Two of the biggest and most helpful things I have bought in the past year are my cordless hoover and spray mop, these became essentials after having a baby especially once we started weaning him! The cordless hoover is a more recent purchase, I wanted a hoover that was easy to grab out of the cupboard and give the floors a quick once over with. I looked at the Dysons and Sharks but I just couldn’t justify spending so much money on what would be a second hoover (we already have a corded Dyson). In the end we bought one from B&M for £69.99, a brand called Blaupunkt. It has many of the same features as the high-end models and a very similar battery life but for a MUCH more reasonable price and I couldn’t be more chuffed with it!
5. Baskets, bins, boxes, bags – storage!
Nothing makes me happier than an organising session and there are SO many different storage options and solutions to choose from! I can spend hours on Amazon looking though the different storage solutions they have. I also love a wander round Home Bargains, B&M, #IKEA, The Range…put me in a homeware shop and I am a happy girl!
My house is full of pretty and coordinated storage baskets, bins, boxes, bags and trays to separate out different things. I have them in drawers, in cupboards, on top of cupboards, on the stairs, in the car, in my handbag – if there is an organisational opportunity to sort and categorise then I’m all over it. I have also been known to sort out my friends’ cupboards and wardrobes with/for them!
6. Tidy before bed Always have a final tidy round before going up to bed. Between us Rich and I will make sure Jake’s toys are put away, the dishwasher is loaded and is doing a wash, the kitchen surfaces are wiped down and I will straighten up the sofa and cushions. It resets the house for the following day and coming downstairs to tidy-ness helps me to have a positive start to the day.
7. Grown up toy storage
One of the things that used to put me off having a baby was that I didn’t want my house to end up looking like a toy shop! Rich and I have invested in some different storage solutions to house Jake’s toys. In the evenings and weekends most of his toys are out and around the house – as they should be! But once he has gone to bed we put them all away and have our space back without them shouting at us from the corner of the room.
We have bought a big entertainment unit which is full of cupboards we use primarily for his toys and has helped to organise them into categories! We have a plain white box for some bulky bits and baskets dotted around downstairs which toys can be put into and are hidden from sight. Just because they are children’s toys doesn’t mean they need to be in children’s toy storage, he knows where they are and how to get them out.
8. Group by family
This is probably really obvious, but I keep things together that belong together! So for example in the bathroom cupboard I only have things that I use in the bathroom such as toiletries, cleaning products for the bathroom, towels and guest towels etc. Under the sink I keep all the things that I need in the kitchen. This makes everything easy to find and accessible when I need them.
9. De-clutter and minimise
This is something that I grew up having to do – my mum would regularly make my brother and I have a huge sort out of our bedrooms and bag up anything we didn’t use, need or want anymore. I used to HATE doing this but it seems as though it is a habit which has stuck with me as I now regularly do it in my home! If I don’t use it, need it or want it then depending on the condition it is in it gets sold, donated or chucked. This way we only have things in our home which we use, need and want. I tend to do one drawer, cupboard or box every couple of weeks.
10. To do lists I LOVE a list! There is nothing more satisfying than ticking off what you have done to give you a huge sense of achievement! I have a daily, weekly and big bits lists.
My daily lists are split – one for work and one for home. I am very lucky that I have the ability to work from home for a large part of the week so I make a list of all the work tasks I need to do each day and all the house bits I need to do for example put a load of washing on, mop the floor, put salt in the dishwasher etc.
My weekly list is for the more time consuming bits that need to be done around the house such as putting things in the loft, cutting the grass, sorting out the letter rack, changing the beds and then these will get divided up between Rich and I.
My big bits list is for the big jobs that need to be done at some point over the next few months. On the list currently is redecorating the bathroom, sorting out the loft, and sorting out the shed!
11. Hired help! We have a cleaner who comes to blitz the house for three hours every other week. I work 4 days a week, Rich works 5 days a week and we have a 15-month-old baby, so the weekends are for spending time as a family. We do not have the time or the willingness to properly clean the house every weekend. I will do the quick in-between and daily cleans and keep the house tidy, but she will come and do a proper blitz to make the house squeaky clean and it is the best money we spend every month!
Come and find me on Instagram @acton.life.and.home and tell me some of your tips, tricks and habits.
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